Pryor's Place

Has anyone ever seen this lesser known, late-period Sid & Marty Krofft show starring Richard Pryor as a nice guy? I recently purchased a best-of VHS collection of old Krofft programs at Goodwill, and volume 3 of the set had an episode or two of this series of theirs, and if you ask me, this almost seems like a blatant rip-off of SST: you got an innercity setting, you got an integrated cast of kids playing around on the street, you got Richard Pryor basically acting like Gordon, and of course a couple of puppet rats that live in the stormdrain under the street, much like a grouch living in a trashcan.

The thought of Richard Pryor having a children's show makes me laugh, since his humor was very adult at times, but he did do a couple clips for Sesame Street.

I remember when this was on the air. Pryor was doing his best to compete with Cosby at being a congenial kiddie show host, and he wasn't too bad
(in between hits at the crack pipe). He played numerous characters, the one that stuck out in my mind was a dreadlocked street musician named Chills.

I saw one episode where the younger him skips school with his new friends, and they go to an arcade and are taught the importance of education. It was interesting, but I enjoy Pufnstuf myself.

That's actually the episode that is featured on the VHS set I got at Goodwill

Pufnstuf was tops... with the except of D.C. Follies, it seems like after the original Land of the Lost, each new Krofft show just got weaker and weaker. Pink Lady and Jeff? That show sucks.

I agree! They have discs with an episode of all the shows, but the only one I really enjoyed was Disc 1 with Pufnstuf, Bugaloos, Sigmund, and Lidsville.

That quote almost looks like a pun...

The idea of Richard Pryor doing a kids show similar to Sesame Street sounds like it should be an adult parody of children's television, like a variety show sketch if not its own series (there really needs to be more of those types of shows... And maybe there are, though I never saw TV Funhouse or Wonder Showzen).

What do you mean by pun?

Oh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I get it. That's something else.Am I the only that does NOT believe the Kroffts were high?

Marty has denied repeatedly in interview after interview that he and Sid did NOT do drugs when they made those shows.

Sid has said that "H.R. Pufnstuf" is NOT "hand-rolled puffin' stuff", H.R. is "royal highness" backwards, and Pufnstuf is derived from "Puff the Magic Dragon" and "all this other stuff".

Yeah, their shows were really psychedelic and trippy, but that was the times, it was the 70s, the 70s were a big decade for that kind of entertainment... the 70s has it's period specific entertainment, as did the 80s, and even the 90s.

Whether the Krofts were inspired by drugs or not, I'll believe either answer. Though I wonder if you really need to do drugs to do something that looks like it was on drugs (can't one be inspired by something that was inspired by drugs?). But for years people have joked (if not believed) about those shows being on drugs, and it sure is funny.

That's an old misconception. If you do that much drugs, you actually can't be inspired to make something crazy... you can barely be inspired to pick your head up and stop drooling.

People that make crazy things aren't on drugs... they're naturally crazy.

Thank you both!